5 Biggest Disappointments of E3 2018

By Jasmine Henry 02 July 2018

E3 2018 had plenty of high points. Some of the best trailers presented at the annual industry event came from games like The Last of Us Part 2 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. There were also fresh details about other hotly anticipated titles such as the Let’s Go Pokemon games and Death Stranding. It even offered up major, surprising announcements such as the reveal of The Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield during the Bethesda press conference.

But like any industry event, there were plenty of lows too. There were rumored games and announcements that didn’t show up, missing gameplay features, and at least one controversy. So without further ado, here are the five biggest disappointments of E3 2018.

1. Anthem Doesn’t Have Romance

Respected RPG developer BioWare is best-known for two things: its vast and inviting open-worlds and the interactions that players are able to have within it. Those who have played BioWare’s two biggest franchises, Mass Effect and Dragon Age, have their own stories about a whirlwind romance with a particular love interest or flirty banter with a charming squadmate. So it came as somewhat of a surprise when the developer revealed that its next RPG, Anthem, will not have romances.

The confirmation of no romance options was met with significant backlash from BioWare’s biggest fans who were hoping to partner up in Anthem’s strange and alien sci-fi world. The developer has since said that it may add romances post-launch if there is an NPC that players really want to romance, but for now, it means that the Anthem adventure will be one without (romantic) love.

2. No Skate 4 Announcement

For years, fans of EA’s skateboarding sim series Skate have been begging the publisher to make Skate 4. Skate 3 was released all the way back in 2010 and fans say that it’s about time a sequel was released. It’s not just the average fan who has been desperate for EA to make it happen, with celebrity supporters such as Tyler, The Creator calling for Skate 4 as well. In the run-up to E3 2018, there were growing rumors that EA would finally reveal the game during its press conference. What really poured fire on the flames of speculation was that the Skate 3 servers have just come back online.

But when the EA presser rolled around, no such Skate 4 announcement was made, leaving fans broken-hearted and disappointed that their Skate dreams had been dashed for another year. Positively, another skateboarding sim called Session was revealed during the Xbox press conference and that may scratch fans’ Skate-sized itch.

3. Kingdom Hearts 3 Delayed to 2019

At the D23 Expo last summer, Square Enix announced that Kingdom Hearts 3 would release in 2018. Given how long the game had already been in development, many fans of the franchise were incredibly suspicious, joking that there was absolutely no chance that the game would be released in that timeframe. Some even joked that “Kingdom Hearts 3 2018” was just the full name of the game, rather than the release date.

So at E3 2018, when Square Enix officially announced the Kingdom Hearts 3 release date as early 2019, few fans were surprised. A delayed Kingdom Hearts 3 is better than no Kingdom Hearts 3 at all, but that didn’t make the delay announcement go down any smoother.

4. No Xbox One X Price Drop

Like Skate 4, another big rumor ahead of E3 2018 was that the Xbox One X was going to get a $100 price drop. Microsoft had already announced a small discount for its high-powered console, slashing the RRP by $50, but after price drop ads from GameStop and Fry’s leaked online, many were anticipating a further discount.

There was disappointment then when Microsoft made no such announcement during its press conference. Sure, there were plenty of big announcements that impact the future of the Xbox console ecosystem, including Microsoft’s acquisition of four new studios and FastStart, but these features mean very little to those who don’t yet have an Xbox One or an Xbox One X and cannot currently afford to, so the lack of a discount announcement really hit some people hard.

5. Fortnite Cross-Play Controversy

The news that Fortnite would be released on the Nintendo Switch leaked well before the Nintendo Direct stream at E3 2018 began. There had been teasers and rumors for months that the game would be coming to the portable home console and so no one was particularly shocked by the official announcement. Instead, the disappointment came from the fact that not only does Fortnite on Nintendo Switch not have cross-platform play with PS4, but also people whose Epic Games accounts are connected to Fortnite on PS4 are unable to log-in to the Switch version of the game.

It was a disappointing and devastating blow not just to the players who had been eager to enjoy Fortnite on as many platforms as possible, but also to Sony, which has found itself at the center of cross-play controversies before. Many are hoping that this latest debacle will force the PS4 platform holder’s hand on cross platform play but only time will tell.